Special one last fly for Ford Ranger Raptor

Amidst all of the new vehicles launched last year, the reveal of the Ford Ranger in the latter stages of November surely rated as one of the biggest and most anticipated.

The first completely new Ranger in almost a decade, the expectations of the internally named T6.2 couldn’t have been higher.

After all, it’s T6 predecessor broke new grounds from not only a power, comfort and styling perspective, but also become the first vehicle to unsettle the Toyota Hilux at the top of South Africa’s new vehicle sales chart on a number of occasions.

At the same time, it also displaced the Isuzu D-Max as the country’s second-best selling new bakkie.

The benchmark still without an equal

Come 2018, the Ranger took a step closer to its designation as a junior F-150 when it spawned a performance, off-road focused Raptor model; an offering no direct rival has matched from a global perspective despite expressing continual interest.

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With the unveiling of the Ranger completed, the Raptor now takes stage with expectations being similarly high, if not higher.

Though Ford has declined to provide any details, what is known is that the Raptor will ditch the 2.0-litre bi-turbodiesel engine for the highly awaited 3.0-litre V6 oil-burner, potentially feature a range of new or updated off-road tech and debut next month.

What is so special?

As a way of saying goodbye, the Blue Oval, less than a month before debuting the new Ranger, revealed the Ranger Raptor Special Edition that had initially been limited to Europe and under the Raptor X moniker in Australia.

Adopting an approach similar to the Thunder and Stormtrak, both based on the Wildtrak, the Special Edition differs from the conventional Raptor only in aesthetics.

Priced at R977 400, R45 000 more than standard, the Special Edition gets dual black racing stripes with contrasting red edging, red tow hooks, a matte black finish for the grille, mirror caps, door handles, wheel arches and bumpers, plus a manual roller shutter.

Inside, the stitch work on the seats, doors, armrest, gear lever and steering wheel has changed from blue to red, the black instrument panel has been replaced by a grey variant and the seats finished in grained leather.

While not exactly the farewell many had expected, the visual applique, combined with the stunning Blue Lighting paint option, adds an element of attitude whilst being, dare I say it, over-the-top tasteful unlike the horrible imitation “Raptor kits” buyers stick-on their conventional Rangers.

Still resplendent with the block letter FORD grille, textured steel side steps, wider stance and 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in General Grabber AT3 tyres, the Special Edition’s macho exterior stands in contrast to its interior.

Age is showing inside

Aside from the mentioned touches, it still sports the grin inducing aluminium gear shift paddles, red 12 o’ clock marking on the steering wheel, model specific dials within the instrument cluster and Ford Performance branded door sills.

Unfortunately, neither these, nor the abundance of red stitching, are enough to hide the interior’s age.

Although well screwed together, the variation in material quality ranges from soft-touch leather on the dashboard and doors to low-rent plastics, the most prominent being on the centre console underneath the eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

The lacklustre feel continues in the shape of the cheap feeling silver air vent surrounds and the plastics used on the transmission tunnel.

In addition, the lack of rear air vents remains an unfortunate oversight given how bakkies have morphed from workhorses to lifestyle vehicles with SUV ambitions.

Counting in the interior’s favour though are its ergonomics and ease of use. From the logically laid out infotainment system that incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, to making sense of the buttons on the steering wheel, the cabin is spacious with acceptable levels of head- and legroom for those seated at the rear.

Tough flyer

Like its sibling, the Special Edition reserves its talents for the rough stuff. Outfitted with the position sensitive damping Fox Racing shock absorbers, the six-mode Terrain Management system, 283 mm of ground clearance and a rugged steel frame, the Raptor feels unstoppable off-road and capable of, literally, flying over every obstacle in its path.

While its seven-day stint didn’t involve the same treatment Road Test Editor Mark Jones subjected it to at the national media launch, its arrival did coincide with a quick weekend trip to the Free State in order to stretch its legs.

Unsurprisingly, the poorly maintained roads presented little in the way of challenges to the Raptor’s ride, though road noise tended to become a lot more audible than usual as a result of the tyres.

The grunting question

As Mark pointed out, the topic of the power station underneath the bonnet remains a contentious issue.

Producing an unchanged 157kW/500Nm, the agricultural sounding unit remains well adapted to everyday conditions, and bizarrely, felt spritelier in the Raptor – this despite a weight gain of more than 100 kg over the four-wheel-drive Stormtrak currently in our long-term fleet.

Left in Normal mode for most of the week, the jaunt to the Free State did present an opportunity for the Raptor to fly. Switched to the always smile-prone Baja mode, the Raptor’s true talents showed as it hurtled across an admittedly not very challenging gravel road with ease, while also getting a few seconds of air.

It remains the Raptor’s party piece, which however also highlighted the need for more grunt as the engine tends to run out of puff as the speed increases.

Like in the Stormtrak, the largely slick 10-speed automatic gearbox exhibits a tendency to skip ratios too quickly too often, though flicking the paddles revolves this. These remain a fixture exclusive to the Raptor and one which comes in handy when traversing the rough stuff at speed.

Consumption-wise, the Raptor Special Edition returned an indicated best of 8.0 L/100 km, an impressive figure considering not only the venture in Baja mode, but also its use for everyday commute and town driving.

Conclusion

When it comes to the question of price, the simple verdict, in this writer’s opinion, is that the premium asked by the Ford Range Raptor Special Edition makes very little sense considering what the standard model already offers.

However, as proven by the Thunder and Stormtrak, the appeal of having something different from the norm, regardless of how small or what the changes are, resonates more with buyers willing to pay a premium to standout.

In this regard, the Raptor Special Edition has all of the bases covered as it adds a little bit extra to what remains the ultimate go-fast, off-road bakkie.